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I just bought a 2003 Z4 3.0i with the sport/premium pkgs and SMG trans. I barely have 800 miles on the car and already need to replace my front driver's side low-profile 225/40R 18" run falt tire becuase of a side-wall welt. The dealership says I hit a pothole (which I may have, living in NYC). Luckily they'll replace this one for free, since the car is only 3 weeks old, and to "keep me smiling"...good man.

How careful do I need to be when driving this car? Is every small bump/pothole a potential trip to the dealership for a new tire? Or was my tire defective?

A sidewall bubble is caused when the innerliner of the tire is torn, 99% due to an abrasion (ie : pothole) and is not covered in the tires warranty. Air then migrates into the sidewall to form the 'welt' that you described. Eventually heat will continue to build up at that point and the tire will fail. You'll have to use more caution driving on 225/40R18 tires, especially in New York!.

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Originally posted by docjohn
[BHow careful do I need to be when driving this car? Is every small bump/pothole a potential trip to the dealership for a new tire? Or was my tire defective? [/B]

The New York City area is just awful for tires/wheels. Don't feel bad, I lost a ContiTouring 205/50-17 and a Type 73 in a pothole during the winter at less than 1000 miles. I wound up buying a replacement of each at the dealer and then had to take the bus + subway home with it . Later, after I decided that the Conti wasn't that terrible for my driving style (and Tire Rack even said that unless I was going to change wheel sizes, they'd suggest staying with the Contis) I picked up another tire and took it and my bent wheel to Wheel Collision in PA to have the wheel re-trued and the tire mounted. So now I have an extra for the next time this happens (and, being NYC, it will happen again).

Oddly, on my '95 Eagle Talon which I had from 10/94 through 8/02 and came with 215/55-16 Potenza RE92's, I never had any tire/wheel damage, even though I clipped the edge of a manhole with a missing lid (which bent part of the suspension, but the tire/wheel itself was fine). The car went to salvage with immaculate original tires and wheels.

Originally posted by Gary@Tirerack Does NYC have any program for reimbursing for stuff like that?

Allegedly. See here. Note that you use the same form that you use if your car was hit by a NYC DOT vehicle.

The last time I tried this, the rules were cumbersome and designed to protect the city - if I'm remembering right, the pothole needed to have been previously reported, and the city had 3 working days to fix it. Of course, you need to file a motion for discovery to find out from the DOT if the pothole had been previously reported (unless you or one of your neighbors reported it). And if the DOT did something like throw cold patch in it, making the pothole worse, they consider that "fixed" and to file a claim, there needs to be a second complaint on the pothole. Further, they will exclude any potholes at the edges of utility manholes, transformer vault covers, etc. and tell you to sue the utilty.

Most NYC-ers seem to either just cringe and bear it or have additional road hazard insurance coverage. Never having had this problem with the Talon, I didn't even think about it until I lost the tire and wheel on the BMW.

Terry is right - the process for NYC reimbursing pothole tire damage is cumbersome, and usually leads to nowhere. My previous car was a Saab 9-3 convertible with 16" wheels. I had to replace 3 in one year - and I mean both the wheels and rims. Of course, the city was no help. And mind you - I am extremely vigilant about potholes, having driven in NYC and the surrounding areas all my life. This year especially - the potholes have been everywhere, and larger than usual (maybe because of all the rain).

What surprised me about the Z4 was that I hadn't driven it in the city yet, just on the relatively well paved roads of the Hamptons, and the LIE. This is what worried me even more.

Also, I couldn't remember and big potholes that I hit, just a few minor ones that were unavoidable.

From now on though - I need to be even more vigilant. Those tires and rims are expensive, and worse, extremely inconvenient if this becomes a common occurence. My car is now sitting at the BMW dealership until they get a replacement tire (probably will take a week) - and I already miss driving it.

Got to say though - the car handles immaculately, and everyone stops to talk to me about it (the red leather is a big attention grabber).